Additive manufacturing processes, also known as 3D printing, have been used for prototyping components and small-scale manufacturing. In general, additive manufacturing processes create parts layer-by-layer instead of from a casting or mold. For example, polymers may be heated and extruded in a computer-controlled process to generate a component without relying on traditional thermoplastic injection molding techniques and systems. Another type of additive manufacturing process, laser sintering, involves the use of a laser to fuse a base powder into a form in a layer-by-layer process. The shape is determined by instructions provided in files generated using computer-aided design (CAD) tools, similar to traditional computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) processes. However, unlike many traditional CAM processes, which are sometimes referred to as “subtractive manufacturing,” laser sintering remains costly and specialized. Laser sintering has, accordingly, not been integrated into manufacturing systems and processes, such as repair processes for intricate parts.
United States Patent Publication 20130264760 (US '760), “Method for Selective Laser Sintering and System for Selective Laser Sintering Suitable for Said Method,” purports to address the problem of the use of using laser sintering for repairing parts. The US '760 publication describes removing damaged portions of parts to create recesses to be filled using laser sintering with a rotating powder distributor. The design of the US '760 publication, however, only discusses excising damaged portions of components and then replacing them using laser sintering, which may result in the inefficient use of laser sintering to repair damaged components where other processes may be used. US '760 is also silent on creating parts through efficient combinations of conventional manufacturing techniques and additive manufacturing methods such as laser sintering. Accordingly, there is a need for improved techniques of laser sintering manufacturing.